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This book chronicles the life and work of the dynamic and controversial Michelle Rhee -- from her first teaching job in a West Baltimore classroom to her current position as chancellor of Washington DC public schools. Along the way, we also learn about the fundamental problems in our current education system, and -- most of all -- about the politics of leadership.When Rhee first arrived in Washington, she found a school district that had been so broken for so long, that everyone had long since given up. Her determination to turn the situation around, her encounters with community politics and long-simmering racial tensions, and her battles with central office bureaucrats and teachers unions have been featured in major media outlets such as Time, Newsweek, and The Wall Street Journal.The book concludes with an inside account of the contentious re-election race of mayor Adrian Fenty, a preview of Rhee's future, and lessons for would-be reformers. An 8-page photo insert includes images of Rhee from childhood through the present.

Richard Whitmire is a veteran education reporter. He is a former editorial writer for USA Today, immediate past-president of the National Education Writers Association, and author of the book Why Boys Fail. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area.